![]() ![]() ![]() As the trend crossed the ocean, the Tooth Mouse became the Tooth Fairy and children placed baby teeth under their pillow. After that story, children in Europe began placing their teeth in their shoes in exchange for small gifts or coins. It turns out, the mouse is a fairy who releases the queen and knocks all the king’s teeth out while he sleeps. She asks a mouse in the tower, the only one she can turn to, for help. In this tale, a wicked king imprisons the kind and beautiful queen in a tower. How we think of the Tooth Fairy today most likely comes from an 18th century French fairy tale called La Bonne Petite Souris. Because mice were thought to have strong, healthy teeth, parents would leave the tooth out for mice to get. One superstition held that if a baby tooth was fed to an animal, the adult tooth would resemble the tooth of the animal that swallowed it. In the Middle Ages, it was thought that witches would use teeth in curses and spells, so parents would take baby teeth and either bury, burn, or swallow them. The first known mention of trading a tooth for a coin dates back to Northern Europe, circa 1200 with the tand-fé, or “tooth fee.” In fact, her origins are a bit of a mystery. The Easter Bunny and Santa Claus both have well documented origins that date back several centuries, but the same can’t be said for the Tooth Fairy. While it’s a pretty standard practice, where did this come from? Who thought of the Tooth Fairy? Our Cary dentists did a little digging into the legend and origins of the Tooth Fairy to find out. When a child loses a baby tooth, what happens next? In most households in the United States, the child will put the tooth under their pillow or in a special place for the tooth fairy who will then take the tooth and leave a small amount of money in its place. ![]()
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